Insurance fraud at its highest in December

The number of insurance fraud cases increases significantly in December as some people look to take advantage of insurers to finance their festive spending, data from British insurer AXA show.

There is a 40 per cent spike in claims at this time of year, with many of the incidents being reported involving fire and theft of vehicles.

Steve Gaywood, head of counter fraud at AXA, said:

“Christmas is expensive and it is sad to see the desperate measures people will go to for a bit of extra cash but insurance fraud is really not the answer.”

Research from the company also showed that 44 per cent of Brits believe they will be in debt after Christmas this year, with 60 per cent of this group believing it will take many months to pay off these costs.